Pocket pepper mill



Oct. 28, 1958 J. w. SINKINSON POCKET PEPPER MILL Filed Nov. 21, 1956 INVENTOR. JOHN 41/1 502 S/NK/MSON Unite fitates t atent POCKET PEPPER MILL John Wilbur Sinkinson, Santa Cruz, Salit. Application November 21, 1956, Serial No. 623,643

2 Claims. (Cl. 241-168) This invention relates to pepper mills and particularly to pepper mills which are adapted to be carried in the pocket of the user.

Ordinarily pepper mills are not carried in ones pocket. Customarily a pepper mill, though portable, is used at a particular specific location. ever, ground pepper is placed in conventional pepper shakers with the result that the connoisseur has many times been unable to grind his own condiment as and when he wished.

It is an object of this invention to provide a pepper mill which may be carried from place to place by the user and be readily available for use at any time.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pepper mill which may be kept covered when not in use to prevent the loss of pepper.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pepper mill of very simple design which is provided with a pivoted crank or handle which may be folded about its pivot point when not in use thus rendering the entire apparatus smaller and more compact.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a comminutor which is threaded throughout its entire length and which not only acts as a comminutor but acts as a lead screw to urge the whole peppers into comminuting position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a comminuting construction in which all particles of the ground or comminuted pepper will be of approximately the same size.

These and other objects of this invention will appear from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 represents a top plan view of my pepper mill taken in open position;

Figure 2 represents a side elevational view, partially in cross section, showing my pepper mill in open position, and

Figure 3 illustrates my pepper mill in operating position.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 my device is provided with an exterior cover which consists of a hollow body portion 10 and a similarly hollow body portion 11 which is hingedly connected to the body 10 as for example through a hinge member 12. The sides of the bodies 10 and 11, when in closed position, are substantially coplanar whereby a neat and attractive outer surface will be presented when the device is in closed position. Closed position of the top body 11 is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2.

The hollow body portion 10 supports the comminuting assembly which is most clearly illustrated in Figure 2. A four sided hollow member 13 is provided which is adapted to telescopically fit within the body portion 10 generally as indicated in Figures 1 and 2 in such a manner that the side walls of members 13 and 10 are in frictional engagement. The lower end of the tubular member 13 is generally open as indicated in Figure 2 More frequently, howice while the upper end is closed by thickened wall portion 14. The upper surface of the wall portion 14 is substantially coplanar with the upper edges of the body 10 and the infitting telescoping member 13 while the lower surface is irregularly formed as indicated in Figure 2. The member 14 is provided with a tapered orifice 16 whose purpose will more fully hereinafter be described but which accommodates a threaded comminuting member 17. The lower end of the threaded comminuting member 17 is rotatably mounted in a stationary boss 18 which is secured to one side wall of the .member 13 in any suitable manner. The comminuting member 17 extends generally through the tapered orifice 16 beyond the plane of the upper side of the wall 14 and terminates in an enlarged portion 19 which is adapted to pivotally support a handle 21'. The handle 21, as indicated particularly in Figure 2 may be swung from the dotted line position as indicated to the full line position. A stop 22 is provided on the member 19 whereby when the handle 21 is swung to operating or full line position it will engage the stop and remain in operating position during the grinding or comminuting process. However when the grinding or comminuting process has terminated the handle 21 may be swung generally in a counterclockwise direction as illustrated in Figure 2 to the dotted line position at which time it will. engage the upper side of the wall 14. This is said to be the inoperative position and when the handle is in this position the cover 11 may be swung to the dotted line position. illustrated in Figure 2. It will be noted that the largest outside diameter of the threads of the comminuting member 17 is slightly less than the diameter of the throat of the tapered orifice 16. Thus it will be seen that the size of the particle of pepper or other condiment which is ground will be determined by the size of the gap between the exterior surfaces of the comminutor 17 and the inner wall of the tapered slot 16.

The upper surface of the wall 14 also accommodates a pivotally mounted lever 26. One end of the member 26 bears against a leaf spring 27 which is fixed to the upper surface of the wall 14. When the cover member 11 is in full open position as indicated in Figure 2 it is free to pivot about the hinge 12 to a limited extent. However, as the cover 11 is swung in a clockwise direction about the pivot 12 one of its side walls will engage the member 26 and its further movement will be restrained by the lever 26 and the spring 27. When lever 12 is swung to full closed or dotted line position as indicated in Figure 2 it is adapted to engage the wall 28 of the cup 29 formed within the cap or cover 11.

The bottom wall of the receptacle 10 and the side walls 13 of the sleeve-like member and the top 14 also perform a storage zone for the condiment to be ground,

, in this instance, black pepper.

When the device is adapted to be operated of course it will be tilted to a position indicated generally in Figure 3 at which time the irregular lower surface of the wall 14 will serve to funnel the pepper, by gravity, toward the tapered slot 16 so that the pepper therein will be engaged by the comminuting member 17.

Operation of my device may briefly be described as follows: Let it be assumed that the device is in closed position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 in which event the cover 11 will be in the dotted line position and the handle 21 will likewise be in the dotted line position. The member 26 will engage the inner wall 28 of the cup-like member 29. The effect of the spring 27 will be to urge the member 26 into engagement with the wall 28 in such a manner as to frictionally urge the receptacle 29 and the cover 11 into the dotted line position. How ever the effect of the spring 27 may easily be overcome and the member 11 may be pivoted about the hinge 12 until it occupies the position illustrated generally in Figure 2. The handle 21 may be swung to the full line position indicated in Figure 2 until it engages the stop pass through the throat of the orifice between the side walls thereof and the co-mminutor 17.

When a sutficient quantity of pepper has been ground the handle 21 may be swung about its pivot and will occupy generally the dotted line position as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The cap 11 may then be swung in a clockwise direction about the point 12 until the member 26 engages the cup-like receptacle 29 and the device will then remain in closed position.

Loading of the pepper mill is very simple. The entire members 13 and 14 may be withdrawn from the body 10. Corns of whole peppers may be put into the body 10 and the members 13 and 14 be repositioned generally as indicated in Figure 2.

By mounting the comminutor 17 as indicated it will be apparent that it may be rotated with respect to the members 13, 18 and 14 but it may not be moved longitudinally with respect to them. This type of mounting and this type of comminutor serves both as a grinder and as a lead for urging unground peppers, for example, into comminuting position.

I claim:

1. In a pocket pepper mill, a first body member, a cover member hingedly secured to said first body member, a third body member adapted to telescopically fit within said first body member and to cooperate with said first body member to form a storage area for condiments, a tapered orifice in the top wall of said third body member, a boss on one side wall of said third body, a comminuting member rotatably mounted in said boss and adapted to extend through said tapered orifice, and handle means on that end of said comminuting member remote from said boss, said handle being pivotally mounted and adapted to be swung between operative and inoperative position.

2. In a pocket pepper mill, a first body member, a cover member hingedly secured to said first body memher, a third body member adapted to telescopically fit Within said first body member to form a storage area for condiments, a' tapered orifice in one wall of said third body member, a boss on one side wall of said third body, a comminuting member rotatably mounted in said boss and adapted to extend through said tapered orifice, handle means on that end of said comminuting member remote from said boss, .said handle being pivotally mounted and adapted to be swung between operative and inoperative position, the wall of said third body member which is provided with said tapered orifice being sloped to provide deflecting surfaces tending to urge said condiments into said tapering orifice to be engaged by said comminuting member.

No references cited. 

